WASHINGTON, D.C., February 13, 2006 ? Today at the White House, President George W. Bush presented Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) with the 2004 National Medal of Technology. The prestigious annual award recognizes Motorola for its outstanding contributions to America's technological innovation and competitiveness. The National Medal of Technology, established in 1980 by an act of Congress, is the highest honor awarded by the President to America's leading innovators.
Since its founding in 1928, Motorola has stood on the cutting edge of innovation in areas such as two-way radios, cellular communication, paging, space flight communication, semiconductors and integrated, digital enhanced networks. As a result, the company has helped establish entirely new industries and driven the phenomenal growth of portable and mobile communications.
?All of us at Motorola are honored to receive the National Medal of Technology from the President,? said Ed Zander, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer. ?This award belongs not only to the talented employees of today but to the several generations of Motorolans who built our heritage of innovation. Given this heritage, we strongly support the President's plan to keep America the world's most competitive and innovative nation.?
In the President's State of the Union address on January 31, he announced his American Competitiveness Initiative. The initiative calls for bold private-sector investment in innovation and renewed emphasis on math and science education.
?We applaud the administration for proposing increased investments in R&D, in particular for the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) at Commerce and for the National Science Foundation,? said Padmasree Warrior, Motorola executive vice president and chief technology officer. ?From convergence to mobile Internet to nanotechnology, we must educate, excite and inspire our nation's children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.?
Motorola invests more than $3.5 billion annually into research and development and has long supported math and science education, including the FIRST Robotics competition, the Teach for America program, the United Negro College Fund, the Mathcounts Foundation, Girls Inc. and the Ibero American Science & Technology Education Consortium.
History of Innovation
A pioneer, innovator and visionary in wireless, broadband and mobile communication, Motorola has transformed innovative ideas into products and solutions to connect people to each other and the world around them.
In personal communication, Motorola has changed the way the world communicates, from the introduction of the DynaTAC cell phone in 1983 to today's ultra-thin RAZR handset. In two-way radio services -- from the Handie-Talkie radio of World War II to today's light-weight models -- Motorola has been the leading provider to public safety, government, transportation, utility and manufacturing enterprises.
Its digital video set-tops and voice-over-IP enhanced cable modems deliver the promise of a connected home just as the original home radios, telephones, and televisions did in the 1930s and ?40s. Motorola has also developed an array of microprocessors for products ranging from some of the first video games to today's most advanced digital cameras.
Today, Motorola's labs are researching and developing cutting-edge technologies to deliver on the promise of seamless mobility ? connecting the unconnected and bringing the mobile Internet to the next billion people worldwide. In addition, Motorola's research in micro-miniaturization and concern for the environment are resulting in ever-smaller portable electronic devices that reduce power consumption and are eco-friendly.
